Jenai

Let me know how the program works out for you or if you run into any snags! I love it. It's inspiring to add my miles on my virtual trip after I do them for real.

This is a little silly, but kind of a fun little thing I'm doing with the miles I walk. I have turned my actual miles into virtual miles. I created a walking route from my house in Portland Or to my sisters house in Oakman, Al. I found a free program called GMap-pedometer.com that lets me record my walking route. I put it on facebook for my sister to see too. The distance is 2475 miles. It will take me 2 years to get there. I've encouraged my sister to start walking to meet me 1/2 way. Here is the link if you want to take a peek. On the left hand side of the screen you will see a plus and minus sign. Hit the minus sign about three times and it will zoom out on the map so you can see a better picture of where I started and am currently. http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3127766 Like I say, a little silly, but still kind of fun! Jenai

I use a polar heart rate monitor when I use the elliptical. The heart rate monitor uses data of gender, age, height, weight and continuous heart rate. It comes in really close to what the elliptical states I burned. I guess it just depends on the type of elliptical we are using on how accurate it is.

Hey Melinda, I noticed you live in Odenville, AL. I have a sister that lives in Oakman and another sister that lives in Fayette. Looks like they are about 1.5 hours away from you. I get out there to see them about once a year. Small world, eh. Jenai

That one little cc became interesting. They put the one cc in the needle, insert the needle and draw out the fluid in the band so all the fluid is in the needle and then push the fluid back into the band. Somehow the 4cc that we all thought I previously had, turned out to be 5cc and with the one additional they put in 6 cc. ooops. No water would go down. So with water sitting in the espohasus, I had to lay back down to have .5 cc pulled back out to leave me at 5.5 cc. I still felt tight and swollen. I did liquids for 2 days and am back on regular foods today. It was an interesting feeling and I wondered how I would deal with the experience when I was too tight and couldn't swallow water. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I'm feeling fine today and life is good.

Melinda, way to go on going to the gym after work! I had tried the elliptical many times in the past and felt the same way after 5 minutes. Burning leg pain. I went back to the gym in April to get ready for my surgery in May. I tried the elliptical again. I lasted 5 minutes, the next day 10 minutes. I would rest 30 seconds to a minute between the 5 and 10 minutes and kept building up my time. It gets better and improves pretty quickly too. I do 5 miles a day, and it takes me an hour and eight minutes currently. My goal is to get it down to an hour. I really like it now and I feel really good afterwards. It has been my accomplishment over the last few months and now just to increase my speed to get the five miles down under an hour. Also every ten minutes I increase the level of restriction so I'm at like the 8th level before I'm done. That's another little challenge I like to give myself. Anything to keep it interesting! Jenai

I wanted to share a non scale victory (NSV) with you all. I fell and broke my arm in December 2007. It was a substantial break. It was a complex fracture in several pieces, a spiral fracture. I fell on concrete and tried to catch myself which actually put more speed and pressure on the fall as I landed. It was a multifragmentary fracture that involved surgery with rod and pins. I spent the next 1.5 years trying to get the arm back to full range of motion. It was close but still not 100%. A few weeks after starting the exercise challenge, my arm started hurting. I was wondering one night why my arm hurt and was trying to think what I could have been doing recently to make it hurt. At first, I could not think of anything. Then a big "duh" crossed my lips. The elliptical. I am spending 7 hours per week on the elliptical with the arms that move back and forth through an extended range of motion. Awesome! Well I realized this week that I can fully extend my arm straight up now. (I had some shoulder impingement due to the rod insertion). I have 100% range of motion back. I cannot tell you how happy I am with this. I am so thankful. It had really bothered me when I finished up physical therapy a few months ago and had to accept that I had what we thought was the maximum level of improvement I was going to be able to achieve. I am very grateful. Jenai

19 miles on the elliptical this week; 60 miles so far this month; 40 miles to go over the next 9 days Had a fill yesterday. I am now at 5.5 cc. Been on liquids for 2 days. Feeling well.

Hi Willow. I can so relate to what you wrote here. About the emotional part of eating. One of the gems from my weight loss seminar in Seattle last weekend was meeting an author and finding a really great book that deals with the emotional journey of eating. This lady is a psychologist. She wrote a book called "Eat it up", which is available at Amazon.com for $11.50. I am finding it very helpful. Did you decide to live with that extra .5 fill and things are settling down for you? I am going for another fill tomorrow. I am anticipating bringing my 4cc up to 5cc.

I heard about the seminar on obesityhelp.com. They travel to many cities. I really would like to go to the one in Dallas as Dr. Lomonaco from Big Medicine will be there. The price is very good. It was $50 for all the speakers and there was a $10 off coupon bringing it down to $40. I would definately go again when it is close to my area.

I am posting my week totals tonight as I leave for the weight loss surgery seminar in the morning and will be gone through Sunday night. This weeks totals are 20.25 miles. Total so far this month is 41 miles. 59 miles to go. I will share any good info I receive at the seminar this weekend. The topics are as follows: Schedule: General Schedule for Friday............................................... 10:00 AM - 1:00 PMDrop off and sort time for clothing exchange 2:00 PM - 5:00 PMAttend our FREE clothing exchange!............. 6:30 PM - 8:30 PMMeet and Greet, Prefunction West............... General Schedule for Saturday............................................. 7:00 AM - 7:45 AMExhibitors Set Up, Pre-function................... 7:45 AM - 8:30 AMRegistration & Visit Exhibitors..................... 8:30 AM - 8:55 AMGreetings from Bo McCoy!.......................... 9:05 AM - 9:45 AMDr. Garth Davis, Book Intro........................ 10:00 AM - 10:40 AMMary Jo Rapini, The You I See Inside........ 10:50 AM - 11:35 AMDr. Chebli & Dr. Neal Q & A on Revision...... 11:40 AM - 12:00 PMExhibitor Walk Through........................... 12:00 PM - 12:55 PMCatered Lunch/Exhibitor Visits.................. 1:10 PM - 1:40 PMDr. Connie Stapleton, Mind/Body/Spirit.......... 1:10 PM - 1:40 PMDr. Gavin Dry, Body Contouring.................... 1:10 PM - 1:40 PMRealize Breakout Dr. Houseworth.................. 1:50 PM - 2:20 PMDr. Karen Hamilton, OBGYN.......................... 1:50 PM - 2:20 PMMelanie Machado, Dietitian.......................... 1:50 PM - 2:20 PMRealize Breakout, Dr. Michaelson.................. 2:30 PM - 3:00 PMDr. Billing, The LapSleeve............................ 2:30 PM - 3:00 PMDr. Egrari, Plastic Surgery........................... 2:30 PM - 3:00 PMRealize Breakout, Katie Jay......................... 3:10 PM - 3:40 PMDr. Lauter, The Importance of Followup......... 3:10 PM - 3:40 PMJeremy Gentles, Fitness.............................. 3:10 PM - 3:40 PMRealize Online Demos.................................. 3:50 PM - 5:15 PMCooking Demo, Chef Dave........................... 5:15 PM - 5:40 PMClosing & Prizes! Bo McCoy......................... 5:45 PM - 8:00 PMDinner on your own................................... 8:00 PM - 8:45 PMLook at Me Now! Member Fashion Show......... 8:00 PM - 11:55 PMFree Casino Night sugar free Desserts/Bev... I sold a book the other day on Amazon.com. It was a weight loss surgery cookbook. It had a lot of shellfish receipes (I'm allergic) so it didn't really work for me. Anyway the buyer lives in Seattle. So I emailed him to ask if he was by chance attending the weight loss surgery conference and I could bring him his cookbook instead of mailing it. He replied that he and his wife would both be there and gave me their cell numbers for making contact. I thought what a small world. Kind of neat! Looking forward to meeting them.

2911Plans: How are you doing after your fill yesterday? Hope your feeling okay with it and feeling some restriction now. This last fill for me was a big hello to restriction. I have struggled eating this last week. I'm fine when I eat very mininally. It's been a challenge to eat enough to support my 5 miles per day on the elliptical. It is getting better though. I have to carefully plan my 20 protein grams per meal as I can not eat very much so I really need to make the little amount go far in the protein grams. Tonight at church a lady noticed my weight loss and asked me if I had been losing weight. She was the first person not close to me that has noticed and asked. Husband,sisters and best friends don't count! It was kind of nice. jenai

Hi Willow. Did you end up getting a fill on Monday or stay with the 5cc?

Week one, 20.75 miles down, 79.25 miles to go. It was an interesting workout for me tonight. With my last fill on Wednesday, I'm feeling real restriction for the first time. I had alot of errands to do today and it took me until 5:00 to make my Protein meal and I finished eating it one hour before it was time to head to the gym. I had a hard time doing my five miles as I still felt so full. Restrictions=longer digestion time. I hadn't considered this before. During the week I usually have my main meal at lunch time, so when I come home after work and head to the gym, I have had several hours to digest that main protein meal and can have a good workout. I learned a lesson tonight to eat earlier in the day so I can have a good workout later. I felt like an after Thanksgiving dinner fullness. I didn't eat that much, it just was too soon to exercise. My gym closes early on the weekend evenings so I had to exercise when I did. It was an interesting experience. I will be sure to eat much earlier in the day in the future. The band continues to teach me so much.

Did your dr's give you a picture after surgery showing your stomach with the band placed around it?

I must say once you actually start to feel the restriction it is amazing. So hopefully you will feel it with the next fill. Does your dr discourage Protein drinks or soup? Mine does. He seems to think it will go right through us and not allow us to feel satisfied. I like soup and I like a Protein Drink before I head to the gym. Would you believe it was 105 last week at this time and it is 68 degrees now! How extreme is that! Should be a good workout on the elliptical tonight with this cooler weather. We get some ocean air that cools us down every once in awhile. (I am about 90 miles inland from the ocean). It is a refreshing change I will admit.

Hi Willow. I am 5'7". Do you find that 5cc is a good spot for you right now? I did have a little bit put in my band at surgery. Then 2 weeks out of surgery I had a problem with some swelling and a low heart rate and had to go back into the hospital for 2 days. They removed all Fluid and air and that seemed to help some. A cardiologist was brought in and she said the lower heart rate was because the vagal tone (vagal nerve) runs through our stomachs and it was compromised by the swelling and was causing the low heart rate. My heart rate is normally in the low 60's. But it dropped to the low 40's/high 30's. After the swelling went down over the next several weeks, my heart rate returned to normal. So I had 2cc put in the band at 5 weeks out and another 2 put in the band just this past wednesday. I will be going back in 2 more weeks and do 1 cc for a total of 5cc. I am thinking based on how I feel right now that may be a good spot for me.

2911Plans and Willowcat, I just noticed that we were all banded at around the same time. I was banded on May 22, 2009. I was wondering how many fills you have both had by this time and if you did the lapband or realize band. I did the realize band. I just had my 2nd fill yesterday. I'm amazed at the difference I feel today on restriction. Really satisfied with very little food. I was still able to do my full 5 miles on the elliptical at the gym tonight. So that was great. I had been doing a bit too much grazing and am now really trying to only do 1 cup of food 3 times a day. I like to see how people that were banded around the same time as me are doing and what their experiences are. We are all around the same age too. I am 47.

I did not tell any of my coworkers about the surgery and for that very reason. My husband and son (age 21) know and my 2 sisters and my best friend. That's it. If a coworker asks...the answer is watching what i eat and plenty of exercise...which is absolute truth~!

The first thing they did in the fitting process was have me hop on the treadmill in my socks and walk a bit. They video taped that and played it back. They were looking for pronation. I was neutral. Then they measured my feet to see the length. I have a high arch. So they went to a few pair of shoes in my size, that concentrate on neutral motion. They have you either hop on the treadmill or they have a concrete ramp that they have you walk up and then down. They want to make sure you don't have slippage in the shoes from the heel to the toe. We went through about 8 different pairs until I found the ones that were comfortable and didn't slip. They had many different categories of shoes depending on your particular traits. It was an interesting process.

Did anyone reward themselves for a job well done in July? I went and got my new workout shoes and my tootsies are so happy! They were expensive, but so worth it.

Thank you for the posts of mileage totals in July. I also went back through our July thread to try to get totals. This is what I was able to glean. The totals look impressive to me. Way to go to all of us! Participant................Method............Miles Total Willowcat.................Exercise Bike..............180 Jenai...........................Elliptical......................85 Openag.............................................................61 2911 Plans.................Exercise Bike..............55 MrsNeener.................Treadmill....................50.5 Jujuvee.......................Walking/light jog......57 Neonatalicurn.................................................6 Godshelp.........................................................12 ..........................................................................506.5

I was thinking just a bar graph of sorts. I did a preliminary one, but was unable to tell what everyone's ending mileage was for July. I would like to propose that everyone does a final post on each month challenge with their total for the month. Some of us did this and put the number in the post, some of us just have the number on our ticker. Unfortunately that number is erased when the ticker is updated for the next months challenge. This is what I have so far. Maybe the participants can fill in via posts what their numbers were. I also thought it would be interesting to see the different methods we all use to reach our mileage. Participant...................... Method.......................... Miles Total Willowcat.................................................................180 Jenai................................. Elliptical......................... 85 Openag....................................................................... 61 2911 Plans................................................................. 55 MrsNeener................................................................. 50.5 .....................................................................................431.5 Feel free to suggest any changes, improvements. I have it saved on an excel sheet that I could email to you.

[quote name=2911plans; For any NEWCOMERS' date=' check out the July 2009 Mile challenge to see how our posters got their miles in for the month. Set any goal that you feel will be attainable. Do not give up. Just keep moving.[/quote] I was thinking it would be interesting to total up all the miles the participants of the July challenge achieved That would look very encouraging. I'm not sure everyone has updated their totals yet though. Just a thought.

I just finished my 5 miles for the day and 85 for the month. A little shy of my goal, but ready for August challenge to start. I am going to Fit Right Northwest store in the morning to find the perfect work out shoes. It seems like an interesting process they go through to fit you. I'm looking forward to it. FITTING: A complimentary video-taped gait analysis for every new customer! This process allows the sales associate to accurately determine the mechanics of the lower extremity focusing in on the heel contact, mid-stance and toe off phase of the gait cycle. By videotaping your walking or running stride, the sales associate can then play back the video so that the customer can see for themselves, how his or her feet function in a dynamic state rather than a static state! Complete Measurement of heel-to-toe length, heel-to-ball of foot length and width of foot using the Brannock device - industry standard for 100 years Subjective Evaluation of Foot - To determine foot volume, the presence of bunions, bunionettes, etc... Shoe Test Runs - Allows customer to evaluate overall comfort and fit of selections outside the store and on our in-store treadmills. Custom Fitting Techniques - Used to reduce foot elongation to less than 1/4 of an inch. This eliminates lost toenails, foot cramping, bruised balls of feet and any of the hundreds of avoidable problems related to improperly fit shoes. This is my reward for a good attempt to meet the mileage challenge for July. August challenge....here I come.